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2025: Estate Plans for a New You

Have you ever been told to change? Probably.

I know I have.

The people closest to you, at one point in time, may have found some of your habits to be irksome. They said you were not a bad person, just really annoying a high percentage of the time. It could be the way you listen and communicate, or how you hold a fork and knife. Maybe it’s the way you shy away from conflict and stay silent.

Once people ask you to change your personality, it may be time to do some soul searching … Or get some new friends.

We know that changing who you are is not a piece of cake. Luckily, initiating some estate planning improvements is easy and will score points with the people who love you but have grown tired of your act.

Let’s start with the “core four” – Will, Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy and Living Will. These are the fundamental documents every estate plan should consider. Do you have these documents? If not, why not? If you do, how old are they?

A Will is like a table of contents. It lays out your story simply and provides a basic organization to follow. Your named executor is in charge of handling estate assets and distributing them to your beneficiaries. A named trustee may hold estate funds for a child or a disabled person entitled to estate funds. You can personalize a Will to include people and charities.

Not having a Will means relying on the intestacy laws of New York, which follow a strict adherence to blood relations – even if that runs counter to your wishes.

Old Wills should be updated to reflect current family dynamics. Listed individuals who are no longer alive or have become estranged can delay the admission of a Will to probate and waste time and money.

Powers of Attorney authorize people you choose to handle your finances when you are unable to make financial decisions. Not having this form means that if you become incapacitated, your loved ones will have to pay many thousands of dollars for an Article 81 Guardianship involving a fairly complex court proceeding.

You can choose more than one agent under a Power of Attorney to work together or separately. An agent under a Power of Attorney can move assets and establish trusts to ensure Medicaid eligibility for a loved one, protecting a family’s life savings.

A Health Care Proxy is the person you choose to make healthcare decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself. A Living Will is the end-of-life instructions for your Health Care Proxy and medical personnel to follow. These documents provide tangible proof to hospital staff of your wishes and chosen decision makers.

Uncertainty in a care setting is not a good idea. Having a Health Care proxy in a chart eases communication during a critical time. Even with a Living Will, a Health Care proxy will still be consulted as to hospice and palliative care options. Illness, recovery and decline are not always symmetrical and a Health Care proxy has to weigh outcomes intelligently.

Having these “core four” documents in your folder will make 2025 a better year. Your loved ones will have to admit you have made positive strides and turned over a new leaf. Plus, you are not done being fabulous – wait until they hear you are getting a Trust in 2026. It will blow their minds.

Alan D. Feller, Esq., is managing partner of The Feller Group, located at 572 Route 6, Suite 103, Mahopac. He can be reached at alandfeller@thefellergroup.com.

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